Filling in the Gaps in Outpost Zero #6

For the next issue of Outpost Zero, I have chosen to focus on how creators force readers to fill in the gaps and make connections, whether correct or not, between panels. 

This sequence shows the climactic fight for Mitchell, one that he has been training for a long time and one that will help to raise the morale for the entire community. I chose this initial page as it demonstrates to the reader the fact that Mitchell is a total underdog in this scenario, and has little chance at success, thereby setting up negative expectations for the outcome of the fight, despite his determination and resolve. By placing the start of the fight at the bottom-right corner of the page, the reader is forced to turn to the next page to figure out what happens next (Cohn, 53). 

By skipping the actual fight, and instead showing the outcome for Mitchell, the creators force the reader to fill in the gap by imagining that the fight went horribly for him. The usage of large three-tier panels, along with the colourful image of Mitchell’s bruised face, force the reader to take more time on these panels (as there have not been any panels of those size yet in the issue) and to focus on his injuries (by drawing the eye). These aspects prevent the reader from seeing the ending instantly, so the reader has to follow the panels in sequence to determine what happened. Magnussen argues that all comics are indexical, as they are made up of fragments that the reader must fill in to understand (195-96). Outpost Zero uses this argument by forcing the reader to fill in the gap of the fight itself. The comments from Mitchell's coach seem to cement the reader's view of what had occurred, where Mitchell lost the fight – the codes of signification (the verbal and visual aspects) seem to coordinate and give the same message (Hatfield 36). However, the final panel completely reverses our expectations and reveals that Mitchell had won the fight, forcing the reader to go back and, as Postema outlines, retroactively re-signify the image of Mitchell's bruised face (50).